The Ghost of a Good Thing
by adiorable
Summary: A FutureFic. Rory and Logan are perfect for each other. Their friends know it, their family although, not all approve know it, but they… they seem to have forgotten. Sophie.
1. Pilot

( I'm not one for long author's notes, so just check out my blog, the link is in my profile. Thanks!)

Chapter 1: Pilot

The jet landed on the private airstrip in Hartford at 6:42pm. Rory Gilmore was sitting in her seat—seatbelt still fastened—looking through the window at the dark sky.

It's been almost three years since she moved away and almost five months since her last visit to Hartford or Stars Hollow.

Her life has definitely turned out a little differently than she thought. She had no complaints though.

She graduated from Yale, with honours, a little over three years ago. Upon her graduation, she received an offer to be an International Correspondent for CNN. This was her dream. The only detail that had her hesitating was that she would have to move to Europe because that's where the job was based. Despite the distance from everything she has ever known, Rory readily accepted.

That, however, was just the tip of the iceberg.

A few weeks before she was set to depart, her paternal Grandmother—Francine Hayden—passed away due to breast cancer. Rory wasn't too saddened by this since she was not at all close to Francine and it was not a secret that they did not 'get along', however, Francine shocked everyone by naming Rory the sole heiress to the Hayden Family Estates and fortune.

Rory couldn't believe it much less comprehend it. Francine left a video of her wishes and in that video she explained that she wanted to make amends to Rory, and that she was proud of her. Francine also apologized for her actions at that fateful dinner many years ago and thanked her son, Christopher, for helping her see how amazing Rory was.

Rory felt a little awkward after hearing about this inheritance. She felt that this was her father's birthright, not hers, but he assured her that she would do great things one day and that she deserved it. Besides, he didn't need it; he was set for life, as well as Gigi, thanks to his Grandfather.

Lorelai and Luke broke-up half-way through her senior year due to irreconcilable differences and a few months after Rory left for Europe, Christopher and Lorelai announced that they were going to get married.

In the matter of weeks Rory Gilmore, the recent Yale graduate, became Rory Gilmore-Hayden, International Correspondent, billionaire heiress and part of one big happy family.

The news converges and paparazzi were overwhelming at first and hard to deal with especially since she was trying to make a name for herself in the Journalistic Community without using her name and wealth.

Keeping a low profile made for a difficult task since she would be forced to attend society parties and DAR functions by her grandmother whenever she was in Connecticut. Apparently, it was her "duty" as a Gilmore and a Hayden to make appearances.

Even so, Rory was living her dream. She had everything. Well… almost everything; the only thing she didn't have was a serious relationship—someone to love—but that was made painfully clear by her grandmother, who constantly tried to set her up with promising bachelors with good pedigrees and excellent futures.

Emily Gilmore simply would not accept Rory's "It's not the right time to get serious" excuse. All she saw was Rory's biological clock ticking away.

The last serious relationship Rory had was with Logan Huntzberger and that was three years ago. They dated for two years (on and off and on and then off). Emily was devastated when she heard of their break-up. All her plans of that spring wedding at Cape Cod and blonde-haired/blue-eyed great-grandchildren went down the drain.

Rory had dated several eligible bachelors since Logan, though. Some of them she met through her grandmother; Emily had even (inadvertently) set her up with Bible Boy, also known as Tristan DuGray. They went out on a couple dates but came to the realization that they were really just 'good friends' material.

Nonetheless, all the men she had dated in the past three years were similar: all handsome, come from good families, prominent lawyers/doctors/businessmen/actors/journalists, even a few shipping heirs, and all men that she couldn't see herself having a future with.

"Rory?" She was brought out of her thoughts as she heard Colin McRae—her good friend since college—call her name as he stepped further into the jet.

"Colin," she unbuckled her seatbelt and stood up as he came into view, "It's great to see you!" She moved closer to engulf him in a hug, "How are you?"

Colin smiled, his arms still wrapped around her, "It's been too long, Reporter Girl." He smiled, letting her go, "I'm great. How are you? Flight alright?"

"I'm good. Flight was good." She smiled, running a hand through her long brown locks. It was good to be back in Hartford despite it all. Close to her friends and family. She missed them when she was away, but that was life. She watched Colin stand there, hands in his pockets, shifting his weight from side to side, and she smiled; he looked on edge. "Colin, are you sure you're alright? You can't seem to stand still."

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me; I've been like this for weeks now." He paused, "I'm just a little nervous about my impending nuptials. The closer it gets the more nervous I seem to get."

Rory laughed, "Colin, Colin, Colin…" She shook her head mock-disappointment and then disbelief, "I still can't believe you're getting married next week."

"Well, believe it. You are after all the maid of honor."

"True, but I am still trying to knock some sense into my best friend and your wife-to-be. You'd think that someone as intelligent and rational as Paris Gellar would know better." She joked.

"Yeah, yeah… Well you can enlighten her about the error of her ways over dinner," he looked down at his watch, "Which we are going to be late for. The car you asked for is waiting." He ushered her to get her stuff and she just laughed. Colin would never change. He would always be the neurotically punctual one of the group.

She picked up her LVCabas Mezzo bag and followed Colin off the jet. She thanked the pilot, and then the resident flight attendant for getting her trunks and suitcases into the waiting car.

"So, where are we going?" She asked once they were settled in the car and on the highway towards the city.

"_Azul_'s," he said.

She nodded in approval, "Mexican, yum. Who's going to be there?"

"Just the gang," he paused, debating whether to list the company, but with the look of expectancy on Rory's face he decided to divulge it, "Lane and Zack are still on tour in California," Rory nodded, "So, it's just us, Paris, Steph, Finn, Tristan, and..."

"And?"

"Logan."

"Oh." She slightly paled at the mention of his name, but the darkness hid the fact.

"He just moved back from Seattle a few months ago, and he just got back from his trip to Washington yesterday, so Finn decided to invite him. Kill two birds with one stone, you know." He explained.

Rory slowly nodded, she couldn't seem to formulate actual words, never mind sentences. Her mind was furiously trying to process Colin's words.

They broke up a couple days after his sister's Wedding; it wasn't necessarily because of the events that happened at the wedding; it was just the beginning of a slippery slope.

She hasn't seen or heard from Logan since his graduation, when they said their goodbyes and he moved away to London for a full year.

It wasn't a bitter break-up, per se but it definitely hurt Rory—more than she thought was possible and more than she let the outside world believe—to watch him leave and never look back; after all, Logan was her first _real_ love.


	2. Seems Like Old Times

Chapter 2: Seems Like Old Times

Colin just quietly watched Rory. He watched her body stiffen and he knew exactly what she was thinking and feeling.

He almost regretted not telling her earlier so she could have prepared, but he knew that if he had mentioned it beforehand she would have found an excuse to post-pone it or get out of it all together.

He knew it wasn't his place to interfere but he just felt it was time for them to reconnect with each other.

Rory and Logan had something special, Colin knew it, all their friends knew it, both their families (although, not all approved) knew it, but they… they both seemed to have forgotten.

It was ironic how everything turned out.

Colin and Finn got closer to her when they both stayed an extra year at Yale to try to make up for the year that they took off.

They both cared about her.

Finn became especially close to her; he was like her older brother. He spent a lot of time in Europe after graduation because most of the movies he directed were on location there. He would spend a lot of time with Rory.

Colin would visit her whenever he could with Paris, and they would call her at least once a week, just to see how she was.

Rory, Stephanie and Paris became good friends when Rory and Paris were inducted into the LDB their senior year.

Colin and Paris got together after graduation, much to everyone's surprise, and now they're getting married.

Tristan, the bane of Rory's existence in High School, was now part of their close-knit group of eccentric friends.

Logan moved to London after his graduation. He wanted to be with Rory, there was no denying it, but he just couldn't stand the notion of just being friends with her. London was his escape. He just needed to breathe for a while.

When Rory graduated and received that job with CNN, she was a little uncertain when she found out it was in _London_. Nevertheless, she went anyway.

The irony was that a few days after Logan returned to the States, he arrived at her penthouse apartment, with a bouquet of sunflowers and every intention to woo her into submission, but instead, he was greeted with an unlocked door and an empty room. She had already left.

The stinger was that everyone seemed to know yet no one had even mentioned to him that she was moving, much less to another continent.

Colin kicked himself for not telling Logan sooner. He could have saved his best friend some dignity.

The cherry on top for Logan definitely had to be when he flicked on the news the next morning, only to see the face of his _Ace _discussing the decline of the global economy from _London_.

Seeing her on T.V, she looked genuinely happy... there was this glint of happiness and excitement in her eyes. It must have been karma coming to bite Logan in the ass.

To Logan, all he saw was the woman he was in love with, happily moved on. To her friends and family, they finally saw the old Rory… the girl that had disappeared when Logan went away.

She was happy, but definitely not moved on.

The car stopped at the restaurant bringing Colin out of his thoughts, but not Rory. She remained there, silent. Colin was debating how to go about this; they had been still for the rest of the 15-minute ride. He looked down at his watch again: 7:06. They were late—by six minutes, but late nonetheless.

"Ror," he started, she didn't even flinch. "We're here." He stated.

Rory looked up at him and slowly nodded her head, "Okay." She took a deep breath, "Let's go."

"Let's go," Colin repeated, he slid out of the car and held a hand out for her. She accepted, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She instructed the driver to drop off all her luggage at her parent's house and come back to pick her up later.

Colin led her into the restaurant, and waited for the Maître D' to lead them to the table where most of their party had already assembled.

They turned the corner and Rory let out a breath. She glanced around the table to see that everyone was there _except _for Logan. Finn was the first one to notice her.

"Love, you're here!" He stood up from his seat and squeezed her tightly.

"Finn, I love you too but you're going to have to let me go, I'm having some troubles breathing," she said half-jokingly. Finn was very affectionate, sometimes too affectionate, but considering she hadn't seen him in four months, the hug was overdue.

"Ease up, Finn; it looks like Gilmore's turning blue." Paris said, standing beside Colin, Stephanie and Tristan, waiting for their turn to greet Rory.

Finn released her and stepped back, just as he did, Rory heard a high-pitched squeal as she felt both Stephanie and Paris bring her in for a hug. After they let her go, she hugged Tristan. They probably looked like a bunch of school kids on the first day of school after summer holidays.

"Awe, I missed you guys." She said smiling; she glanced over at Finn who was looking at her intently.

Rory arched an eyebrow, "What are you looking at Finn?" She asked, looking down at herself.

"Spin around." He ordered, Rory hesitantly did so, and looked at him as if he was crazy, "I'm just making sure you're still in one piece. I worry about you, you know. You're always gallivanting off to the heart of danger, love."

"But you're always so stylish, B," Steph said smiling at Rory, "At least you'd die in a D&G pant suit and Manolo Mary Janes."

"Always a one track mind, huh, Steph." Paris scoffed, as the rest of the table chuckled at Steph's comment as they took their seats, "I'm sure that's what Gilmore's thinking about as she dodges perils."

"Well," Steph started, but the waiter cut her off. They just ordered their drinks since they had yet to open the menu.

"How is work going, Mary?" Tristan asked, as they all perused the menus.

"Yes, Reporter Girl, tell us all about it." Colin added. Rory smiled at her friends. They all had their little nicknames for her. They rarely used her first name. Finn would call her love, Colin coined the term 'Reporter Girl', Paris used Gilmore, Tristan called her Mary, Steph called her Bambi, and Logan used to call her…

"Ace."

They all turned towards the voice.

Rory looked at him in shock and then she instantly smiled. She couldn't help it; there was something about him that always made her smile. Even after everything that happened between them, she was happy to see him.

He looked good; his chocolate brown eyes, his tousled blonde hair and his charming smirk. He was just as she remembered, only with an air of maturity.

They all stood to greet him.

"You're late, mate." Finn gave him a manly embrace and then moved to the side so that Logan could see Rory.

"Rory Gilmore." He stated. They all stood there, awkwardly, waiting to see who would make the next move. It was Logan. All his inhibitions seemed to escape him as he moved to give her a bear hug, "God, it's good to see you, Rory." He said into her ear, so that only she could hear his sentiments.

"Oh!" Rory laughed, she did not expect him to do that, but she didn't mind. The hug was bittersweet in Rory's mind. She missed his arms around her like that but those feelings were followed with memories of the fact that they weren't together, "It's good to see you."

"It has been way too long." He said and Rory just smiled as they all took their seats.

Everyone shared confused glances; they were just as shocked as Rory was when Logan hugged her. They were afraid there was going to be slight blood shed but they were all pleasantly surprised.

Logan sat in the empty chair directly across from Rory and smiled, their eyes locking. "What's going on?" He asked, tearing his eyes away from hers.

The entire ride from his office to the restaurant, he was telling himself to act nonchalant. He wasn't sure what to say or how to act. He didn't know what the protocol was for having dinner with an ex-girlfriend especially an ex-girlfriend whom you still had feelings for.

The moment he saw her, though, all these old, familiar feelings came flooding back and all his cognitive skills were forgotten.

"We were just asking our very own Christiane Amanpour, how CNN was treating her." Tristan said, putting a brotherly arm around Rory's shoulders. Logan knew it was nothing and that he shouldn't read anything into the action, but he couldn't help the twinge of envy he felt.

"It's just as much fun since the last time you asked, Bible Boy," she said, in mock-condescension.

"Well, you're really great at what you do, Ace," Logan stated, "I always catch you on the morning news." Logan smiled; he always watched the morning news so it wasn't too far-fetched that he would occasionally see her. He just failed to mention that he religiously TiVo-ed CNN in order to catch a glimpse of her.

Rory smiled back, she felt strangely proud after hearing what Logan said, "Thank you." She replied, humbly, "But how about you..." She started, trying to move the conversation away from her, "I've only heard great things about what you've done with the Huntzberger Publishing Group."

"Yes, our boy seems to be naturally good at the very thing he spent years running from." Colin said, patting Logan on the back.

"Hey... I wasn't running." Logan said, "I was just delaying the inevitable."

"I always knew you underestimated your talents, Huntzberger. As much as you hate to admit it, you love the journalism field." Rory teased.

"Well, Ace, that's partially your doing."

"Me?" Logan nodded, "And how do you figure?"

"Your love of journalism is kind of contagious." He said simply; all Rory could do was smile. She wasn't exactly sure what to say, she was touched but she didn't know how say that without creating an even more awkward moment.

The moment between the two did not go unnoticed by the rest of the table. They were all thinking the same things: _it's only a matter of time_.

The waiter chose appeared at the table and Rory inwardly thanked him.

They all fell into a comfortable conversation as their food came. It was like nothing had changed. It was like back in college when they would all meet up at the Rich Man's Shoe. They were musing over about old times.

"I don't believe it!" Tristan roared, laughing uncontrollably.

"C'mon, Ace, you have to be kidding."

Rory glanced around the table; they were all laughing hysterically, save for her and Paris. She shook her head, failing to remember how they got to this topic.

"I kid you not." She said in all seriousness, "It was during Spring Break, freshman year at Yale." She turned to Logan, "I never told you this story?"

"Do you think I would just forget this vital piece of information?" He retorted, adding a little smirk.

Colin turned to Paris, with a shocked look on his face, "You seriously kissed her?" Paris just nodded, "Why?"

"I can answer that," Rory said, before Paris could put together words, "She said that we went down there to do Spring Break and we weren't doing it properly. So, thanks to the advice of Madeline and Louise, Paris came to the brilliant conclusion that kissing me would be the perfect way to fully experience Spring Break."

Everyone stared at Paris, "What? It seemed like a perfectly logical solution," She said, defending her reasoning. She caught the mischievous look on Finn's face, "It was a one time thing, Aussie. Don't get any ideas!"

Finn pouted, "Oy, you're no fun."

"I think you two would make a great couple!" Steph said, bursting out in giggles.

"No way." Rory stated.

"Why not?" Paris asked, sounding a little offended.

"You're too high maintenance for me." She smirked.

"I can vouch for that." Colin added, only to be elbowed by Paris.

"I bet your whole roster can vouch for that." Steph smirked.

"Oh, speaking of which, guess who I ran into while I was in Washington last month." Rory stated.

"How is that a 'speaking of which'?" Finn asked.

"What does it matter?" Steph asked, "Who did you see?"

"Mr. Princeton Man, also known as, Jamie." Rory paused, "I guess we're going to have to find a new nickname for him since he's not in Princeton anymore." She added as an afterthought.

"How is he doing?" Paris asked.

"He was good; looked good too."

"Who's Jamie?" Colin asked.

"No one." Paris said, a little too quickly.

"Boy, seeing him brought back some memories… very embarrassing memories."

"Oh, like what, love?" Finn prodded.

"Don't you dare, Gilmore!" Paris shrieked, balling up her napkin and throwing it across the table at Rory.

This seemed to peak everyone's interest.

Finn clapped his hands together like a 13-year-old girl, "What? What? Tell us!"

"It's not my embarrassing moment to tell." Rory said, glad to have the attention off her.

Everyone stared at Paris once again, waiting patiently for her to crack.

"I really hate you, Gilmore, you know that, right?"

"It's a love, hate, relationship." She said shrugging, "Plus, this is revenge for letting the golf story and the 'Butt-Cheek flashing' story get out."

"Oh, and the 'Fire Hydrant' story." Steph added.

"Besides, enough time has passed that we can all laugh about it. Of course, I'm sure my mom has a tape of it lying around somewhere." Rory told her.

"Well, don't leave us hanging here, hon, tell us about this _no one_." Colin urged.

"Fine, but you all have to promise never to mention it ever again." They all nodded, "I don't believe you, but I'll tell you anyway, since you're probably not going to let it go." They all nodded again, "Jamie was the first guy I ever… did it… with. It was after I found out that Gilmore and I had to do a speech that would be televised on C-SPAN. And … the day after Jamie and I, you know… I got a rejection letter from Harvard. Well, the morning of the speeches, I was still kind of shell-shocked from not getting in, then I get to the school and there are cameras everywhere and I'm ushered onto the stage-"

"Wait," Tristan interrupted, "That was you?" He asked, incredulously. "You're the girl who announced to the world of Academia through C-SPAN that the reason you didn't get into Harvard was because you lost your virginity the night before?"

Paris slightly blushed; she was more embarrassed talking about it now then when it was actually happening, "Yep, that was me in all my glory."

"Well, there's a story for the grandchildren." Colin joked.

"And they said C-SPAN wasn't interesting." Logan said, trying not to laugh.

"Blimey, I should watch C-SPAN more often."

"Oh, Paris, I didn't know you had it in you." Steph said, between laughs, "Was this Jamie at least worth all the besmirching of your reputation?"

"Love," He turned to Rory, "Did you say you had it on tape?" He asked, between laughs.

"Will you look at the time?" Paris said abruptly, staring down at her watch, "We should get going." She said, gesturing to Colin.

Finn looked down at his own watch as he regained his composure; it was definitely a memorable evening, "We all should; busy day tomorrow." He waved down the waiter for their check so they could leave.

After five minutes of fighting about who would pay—Finn won—they all made their way out of the restaurant.

"Love, did you drive here?"

"No, I had Colin bring my driver to pick me up at the airstrip. He should be here in a minute." She paused, "How are you getting home, Colin?" Rory asked, remembering that they came together.

"Paris drove here." Rory nodded, and saw her driver pull up.

"This is me. Thanks for dinner, Finn." She said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Anytime, love."

"Goodnight, Mary." Tristan said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Goodnight." She turned to Logan, "It was good seeing you, Logan."

"You, too, Ace." He kissed her on the cheek, lingering a little more than he should have. Rory just smiled, pulling out of his light embrace and turned towards Paris and Steph.

"So, we're still on for Thursday right?"

"Yes! I'll call you tomorrow!" Steph answered, giving Rory another hug.

"Okay. Bye, Paris, Colin!"

"I'll call you tomorrow, too!" Paris exclaimed, giving Rory a hug. "Don't forget I changed my wedding rehearsal to Saturday at 6:30PM." Paris reminded everyone. Rory nodded and climbed into the car, waving one last time as the car drove off.

On the ride to her parent's house, she was overwhelmed with memories of Logan. It was weird how easy it was to slip into old habits.

Rory and Logan could only be equated to a moth and a flame. If memory serves her right, it's always the same thing. She takes these chances on him and she always manages to get hurt. It's not like she's oblivious to the fact, but she just can't seem stay away from him, regardless of the consequence…


	3. Tread Lightly

Chapter 3: Tread Lightly

The car pulled into the long winding driveway of the Hayden Mansion. Her parents' house was huge; 8 bedrooms, 11 baths, a study, a library, a media room, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, pool house and a four car heated garage.. The house itself had been in the Hayden family for years. Rory received it in her inheritance but gave it to her parents. She usually stayed there when she was in town, or in her downtown townhouse in New Haven.

Frederick, her driver, helped her out of the car. Rory glanced at her watch as she surveyed the stone exterior of the house. It was definitely intimidating, but it wasn't cold. She slowly unlocked the door and stepped into the house.

She smiled at the familiarity of it. Lorelai decorated the house herself, it was far from what normal society houses looked like.

The furniture was comfortable and eclectic—there were no matching sets, yet everything worked, there were very few old, priceless heirlooms, the walls were vibrant colours and covered with paintings and pictures, and only the latest technology… the house was one of a kind and welcoming.

She slowly and quietly crept towards the kitchen for some coffee trying not to make any noise seeing as it was almost midnight.

Just as she was about to fill the coffee maker with water, she heard a loud yell down the hallway.

"Ah! You're here!" Lorelai shrieked pouncing down the stairs to give Rory a hug, "Yay!" She laughed, her arms still wrapped around Rory.

Rory was startled at first, amazed at her mother's ability to hear a pin drop… or the car drive up the cobblestone driveway, but she was glad to be wrapped in her arms.

When Lorelai started to pull away Rory pulled her back in saying, "No, not yet."

Lorelai laughed, remembering their first day at Chilton, "Okay; still hugging."

Rory finally pulled away, "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. Oh! Look at you! You get prettier every time I see you!" She said, twirling Rory around.

"Must be the genes."

"Rory!" She turned to see Gigi, followed by Christopher and Noah coming down the stairs.

"Gigi! He-e-e-y … you got tall." She said, kneeling to give her half-sister a hug, she turned to Noah as he bounded out of Christopher's arms and started running towards Rory. 2-year-old Noah jumped into Rory's arms, nearly knocking her over, in a hug. "Oh boy, you're getting big."

"All right, you two promised that once you gave Rory a hug, you would go to sleep, so come on. You can talk to Rory tomorrow. It's late, and, you my dear," she turned to Gigi, "Have school."

They both nodded after a long sigh and Lorelai walked them up the stairs leaving Rory and Christopher in the foyer.

"Let me see you," Christopher said, looking her over before giving her a huge hug, "Just making sure that all your limbs are still intact—and that you haven't sprouted any new ones since the last time I saw you."

Rory laughed, "Geeze, you sound like Finn."

"Hey, Finn's a smart man." Christopher wrapped an arm around her as they walked back into the kitchen, "How's life in London?" He asked, turning on the coffee maker.

"Well, for one thing, it never gets boring." She smiled, "I love it there, Dad. It's so much fun working. It doesn't even feel like work half the time. Like a few months ago, I got to spend two weeks in Saudi Arabia."

"I watched your coverage on that. It's beautiful there." Christopher smiled at the way her eyes lit up talking about it, "I'm glad you're happy."

"I am."

"You are what, sweets?" Lorelai asked as she walked into the kitchen and pulled a stool beside Rory on the island.

"Happy."

"Well, that's good. It's always good to be happy. I hear that's why people exercise; because exercising releases endorphins and endorphins make people happy and it's always good to be happy."

Christopher laughed and shook his head, "Well, on that note, I have to get some sleep. I have that board meeting in the morning." He gave Rory another hug and kissed her on the forehead, "It's good to have you home, kid." He moved to Lorelai, pressing a kiss on her cheek. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, hon." They both said simultaneously as Christopher walked up the stairs.

"So, how was dinner?" Lorelai asked as she grabbed two large cups from the cupboard and filled them to the rim with coffee.

"It was fun, interesting, but fun."

"Interesting? 'Finn re-enacting _Liberace_' interesting or 'Farrah on _Letterman_' interesting?" She asked, sliding Rory a cup.

"It was very… _Blast from the Past_ interesting."

"Oh, intrigue. Tell me more…"

"Logan was there."

"Logan Huntzberger?" Rory nodded. "Limo Boy?" Another nod. "The boy who inadvertently broke my little girl's heart, repeatedly?"

Rory winced at the reminder, "Yeah, that Logan." She took a gulp of her coffee, "Thanks for that, by the way."

"Sorry, sweets." She smiled apologetically, "So, what happened?"

"He saw me, we hugged, he called me Ace and we spent the night laughing and reminiscing with old friends. Well, actually, he called me Ace, and _then _we hugged. But that was the gist."

"Seriously?" Lorelai asked, looking stunned. Rory nodded.

"That was_ it_?"

"That was it." Rory repeated, nodding for emphasis.

"That's not how these things are supposed to go. It says so in the _Seeing Your Ex after Three Years_ for _Dummies_ book."

"What exactly does this handbook say, pray tell?" Rory smirked.

"Well, for one... you don't hug your ex and call them a nickname that you used when you were dating."

"Well, actually, he called me 'Ace' before we were dating."

"Fine, but still, it would have been all right if it was a general nickname… but as I recall he was the only one that called you that, it's more like a pet name. So, was it weird?"

"Hearing him call me Ace, or seeing him in general?"

"Both."

"Well, hearing him call me Ace was a little weird, I mean, I haven't heard that name in three years and seeing him was a little weird too… but it was kind of…"

"Kind of what? Eerie? Disturbing? Horribly wrong?" Lorelai listed dramatically.

"Nice. It was kind of nice."

"Nice?" Lorelai scoffed, "Am I missing something? Does nice have a different connotation since the last time I used it? Did it somehow become a synonym for nightmarish?"

"Mom…"

"No, really, because it would've had to; that is the only conceivable reason I can think of for you using that particular word."

"It was nice. I had fun hanging out with everyone tonight, even Logan. Sure, we haven't seen each other in what feels like forever, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable. Okay, well, it was at first, but now I don't even know why I was so freaked out about it earlier."

"Really? It wasn't even—in the slightest—emotionally scarring?"

"No, it wasn't."

Lorelai nodded her head, trying to understand the situation. "So, what does this mean? Are you on speaking terms? Friends? Can be in the same room without any blood shed?"

"I don't know what this means. I guess, right now it means friends?" She answered, unsure of the answer herself, "Maybe speaking terms?"

"Are you okay with that? I mean, all you want is to be on speaking terms with him, or at the very most friends, right?"

"What is this? Psychoanalysis time? Thanks Freud, but it's late and I need some much need sleep." Rory stood up, putting her cup in the sink.

"Oh, kid…" Lorelai said shaking her head slowly as Rory evaded her questioning glare.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"My beautiful, naïve daughter…" Lorelai shook her head again, "Because you've done it again."

"Done what again?" Rory asked, confused, "And if you reference Britney Spears, I may have to hit you."

"You've fallen for him again." She stated matter-of-factly.

"I have not." Lorelai gave her a wavering look, "I haven't! I just saw him for the first time tonight after three years. That does not constitute love. Just because I said that tonight was nice doesn't mean that I am just going to run back into his arms. There's nothing between us anymore. I've moved on, he's moved on, the whole world's moved on."

"Sweetie, sweetie, sweetie; it must be nice living in your bubble of denial. Just because you've 'moved on'—which in your world really means you've come to terms with him not being in your life anymore and you shoved everything that ever reminded you of him in a box, the 'Logan Box'—does not mean that you've stopped loving him."

"I do not have a Logan Box." Rory mumbled, avoiding Lorelai's eyes.

"You're right; it's more of a crate: a Logan Crate. And it's taking up the entire attic space, we should move it to a storage facility or something. " Rory glared at her. "Look, kid. It's fine that you still have feelings for him. Really it is. Logan's a great guy. He's intelligent, handsome, charming-"

"You're married, you know." Rory muttered.

"And you care about each other." Lorelai continued, ignoring her comment, "Just because you're not together anymore doesn't change the fact that you guys have this chemistry between you. Everyone sees it. People on Sputnik could see it." She paused, looking Rory in the eyes.

"When did you turn Pro-Logan?" Rory cut in.

"Since forever, I have Pro-Logon buttons on everything I own." She joked. "But seriously, your happiness is all I ever wanted and if Logan is the one that makes you happy then he's all right in my books."

"I don't even know why we're getting into this. I just saw him for the first time tonight in three years. We hugged, exchanged pleasantries. Nothing's going on between us."

"All I am trying to say is: tread lightly. I just don't want you to rush into things because it broke my heart to see you when Chachi left. You were emotionally unstable, Joanie. Just… tread lightly. It's all I'm asking."

Rory smirked. "Your wise, sage superpowers have heightened since the last time I visited."

"I know. I'm going to need a cape pretty soon." She smiled. "Now, come on. Someone needs their beauty sleep."

Lorelai stood up and placed her empty cup in the sink. She slung an arm over Rory's shoulders and they both walked upstairs. Lorelai did want Rory to be happy, she was just worried that Rory was going to get hurt. _Please, don't let my baby get hurt_. She pleaded in thought.

_**&!**_

After dinner Logan, Colin, Finn and Tristan found themselves at a nearby pub thanks to Colin, who had suggested it.

Logan just got back from his two-week trip to Washington and he wasn't really in the mood to hang out but Colin was in dire need of a Guys' night, away from wedding details and the _lovely_ Paris, who isn't at all getting more psychotic because of said wedding details.

"Oy, at least you didn't spend a half an hour hitting on a bike rack." Finn pointed out, "That was a tad embarrassing; I gave it a name and everything." Finn paused looking into the distance as if he was reliving the moment, he snapped out of it a few seconds later, "Wait, what happened to that girl you brought with you? What was her name again?" He paused, "It was right out of an _Austin Powers_ flick." Finn started tapping his chin in pensive thought.

Logan's mind was too preoccupied with a certain brown-haired, blue-eyed woman to keep up with their conversation. He missed her. He thought that feeling would go away but it never did. It wasn't easy to forget her, especially since she was always on TV or the radio, but seeing her tonight, it just made Logan's mind go into hyper-drive. He hugged her. What possessed him to do that? He just couldn't control himself. Well, at least she didn't push him away. God, he was glad to see her., to touch her, even for that brief second.

"Don't hurt yourself, Finn. It was Katrinka, okay?"

"Katrinka?" Tristan asked incredulously.

"Right, mate! How could I forget such an original name?"

Colin turned to Tristan. "She didn't speak a word of English and she was always there! I thought I would go crazy. I believe I even equated the term _love_ to her." Finn burst out laughing at the memory. "On that note, I sent her packing. She was on the first red-eye back to the farm."

"Good lay though, right, mate?"

Tristan just laughed.

"Oh come off it, like you haven't done something equally or more stupid than that." Colin said to Tristan, almost challengingly.

"Well, all I can say is that my ego's only been bruised two times and both times by the same girl."

"Who, mate?" Finn asked curiously, as he signaled the waiter for another round of drinks.

"None other than: Rory Gilmore-Hayden."

Colin nodded.

"Well mate, you're not alone in that boat," Finn stated, slapping Logan—who had been very quiet thus far—on the back. "Logan here knows all too well about that. You can share war stories later."

Logan's head shot up, "What?" He asked, confused.

"What's going on with you tonight?" Colin asked, "Besides the two words you said to the waiter, you've just sat there."

"It's nothing." Logan insisted, "So, what were we talking about?"

"I was just telling Tristan here that you both have something in common."

"And what would that be?"

"Our lovely Reporter Girl." Colin filled in.

Logan nodded, "Right. I forgot you went to High School with her and Paris." He lied, he didn't forget.

Logan met Tristan when he moved back from Seattle; so, they've only really known each other for only a few months whereas Colin and Finn have known him for over a year; but Logan was well informed of the situation. Finn has the tendency to gossip—he's the A.J Benza of the group—and he's even worse when he has a couple drinks in him. That boded well for Logan; he knew all about Tristan and Rory's past, or lack there of, as the case may be.

"—He even went to her mother for help." Logan snapped back to reality just as Finn finished talking.

"I'm impressed, Huntz," Tristan replied, "I should've thought about getting a coffee cart to follow her around. Then maybe I wouldn't have had to waste $200 on PJ Harvey tickets."

Logan nodded airily, "Maybe."

"All right, what the hell is going on with you, Huntz? We thought we saw the last of 'brooding Logan'." Colin stated.

"I'll give you one guess at who could make our dear friend, here, all mopey and inattentive."

Colin sighed as realization hit him, "Well, what are you going to do about it?"

Logan looked at him, "What do you mean 'what am I going to do about it'? What the hell are you talking about?" Logan had a pretty good guess as to what he was talking about; he just figured he could prolong the unavoidable.

"We all know you're still hung up on her," Colin started.

"We don't blame you mate, she's a great girl." Finn interrupted.

"And you've probably already planned some sort of 'get-Rory-back' scheme,"

"Which will be rather difficult because she's only in town for a few weeks." Finn interrupted again.

"And even you can't pull that off, Huntz." Tristan added before Colin continued.

"And—"

"Stop; I get it, okay, but rest assured, I don't have a preordained scheme to get her back." They all looked at him unconvinced, "I don't. Tonight was the first time I've seen her in three years, at any event, it's a little soon to be pining."

"C'mon, mate. You've been pining ever since you let her walk out of your life."

Logan rolled his eyes. He knew it was true, but he wouldn't give Finn the satisfaction of knowing he was right, especially since Finn wasn't nearly drunk enough to forget the evening's events. "Drop it; I'm not scheming."

"Of course you're not, mate." Finn said, mockingly.

The truth was he was planning some big gesture to get Rory to look his way again because he wanted to be with her more than anything. He didn't have any definite ideas yet, but all he knew was that this was his chance and he couldn't pass it up.

"Just tread lightly with her Logan." Colin told him.

"Tread lightly?"

"Yes because she's still very vulnerable."

"Vulnerable?"

"Yes."

"How is she vulnerable? She's happy. And from the looks of it, she's moved on, making getting her back more difficult."

"Ah ha!" Finn shouted, "You _were_ planning!"

"Now where do you get the idea that she's moved on?" Tristin asked, ignoring Finn.

"You all saw her." Logan tried to rationalize.

"Yeah, we saw her." Finn said, turning serious all of a sudden, "When you left we saw her wallow for three straight days. We saw her take everything that ever reminded her of you and stash it away somewhere. We saw her put on this façade of being content. We saw her turn down almost every eligible bachelor in the Tri-State area-"

"Bachelors such as me," Tristan interrupted, smirking.

"—and it's not like they were hideous or uninteresting, but because they weren't you."

"So, like I said: tread lightly." Colin reiterated.

Logan just stared at his friends. He forgot that they were so close to Rory. He didn't know that she took things so hard. He was too busy reveling in his pain and misery that he didn't even consider the hurt she was going through.

"All right, with that said, how about another round of drinks?" Finn asked rhetorically while waving the waiter down again.

**_&!_**

A/N: Sorry for the delay, hope you all are well, and thanks for reading.


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